How Does Disney World’s New Ticket Price Compare To Other Destinations?

On March 1st, an adult one-day pass to Disney World jumps from $99 to $105, which means a family of 4 is going to spend more than $400 to wait in line at Space Mountain and then terrify their young kids by introducing them to a massive, maniacally grinning mouse. That’s a pretty penny, but how does it stack up to a day at some of these other iconic American vacation destinations?

Vail Ski Resort, Vail, COYou’ll Pay: $145/$100 (One-Day Lift Ticket, Adult/Child Age 5-12)You’ll Get: 5,200 acres of terrain including the legendary “Back Bowls”; thousand of vertical feet of skiing and snowboarding per day; possibly frostbite.You Won’t Get: Peace and quiet, unless you’re smart and drop the kids in a lesson for at least part of the day.

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American Museum of Natural History, New York NYYou’ll Pay: $22/$12.50 online (Adult/Child Age 2-12)You’ll Get: Access to all 45 Museum halls and the Rose Center for Earth and Space; a 94-foot model of a blue whale, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, 4 moon rocks from the Apollo missions.You Won’t Get: Dirty looks. Those rates are for online pre-purchase; if you hold off and pay in person you’re only required to make a “suggested donation,” which will of course tempt you to stiff one of the world’s great cultural institutions. You think those dinosaur bones reassembled themselves?

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Six Flags Magic Mountain, Valencia CAYou’ll Pay: $69.99/$44.99 (Adult/Child under 48″)You’ll Get: 19 roller coasters — the most of any amusement park in the world; one Warner Brothers cartoon character for every Disney character who isn’t there; nauseous.You Won’t Get: Culture of any kind, unless phalanxes of local middle schoolers on Field Day counts as culture.

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Yellowstone National Park WY/MT/IDYou’ll Pay: $25/$16 (Vehicle/Visitor 16 and older)
$15-$46.75 camping (per night, depending on campsite)You’ll Get: Seven days to explore the wilderness wonderland of both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks; a front-row view of Old Faithful; a glimpse at one of America’s last nearly intact natural ecosystems.You Won’t Get: Your money back due to an unfortunate encounter with a bear, bison, geyser, a wolf or a wolf’s scat; a good night’s sleep.

Considering all the other costs associated with these destinations — parking, hotels, hot dogs, helicopter evacuation due to forest fires — it’s tough to get too nitpicky about Uncle Walt’s price increase down there in Orlando. Plus, as Clark W. Griswold once asked, how can you put a price on good old fashioned family fun?